by Cali Mann
“Nurse Brar,” she said, her eyes narrowing at the man. Her eyes cataloged him quickly and efficiently. “Reading to our patient, are we?”
“Yes, Headmaster,” he said, holding up a nondescript paperback.
My forehead wrinkled. Where had it even come from?
She leaned closer to him and sniffed. “Best keep our meals outside the infirmary.”
“Of course. My apologies.”
Then she looked at me, and I cringed from the ferocity in her gaze. “You may leave us, Nurse. I have some things to discuss with Miss Hailey.”
He nodded and grabbing his tote, disappeared down the aisle.
I watched him go with a sinking heart. I’d known him for two minutes and I felt safer with him than with the headmaster. Reluctantly, I returned my gaze to her. “Headmaster Larkin.”
“Hailey.” She smoothed her tailored gray suit and perched on the edge of the chair the nurse had pulled over. Pressing her lips together, she studied me. “I heard you had quite a turn in Focus class today.”
I blinked as if I didn’t quite remember. “Yes, I think I was out of sorts.”
“You tried to strangle Professor Frank.”
“I did?” I lifted my fingers to my lips. “No, I wouldn’t do that.”
She sighed. I don’t think she believed my wretched acting. That’s okay. I didn’t either.
“I do understand that you’re scared, but really my dear, you need to cut the shit.”
I didn’t have to pretend my shock this time.
Headmaster Larkin shook herself as if she was smoothing her feathers. Her break in composure seemed to annoy her, but she blazed on ahead. “Why did you attack the professor?”
I bit my lip. I wasn’t sure that, I had delusions she was a ghostly apparition was going to fly here. What else was I going to tell her? “I think perhaps Mr. Reed was mistaken about my element.”
“Yes?” Her face looked thoughtful rather than threatening. “It has been known to happen from time to time.”
I took hope from that. Maybe I could get through this. “I think I’m an air shifter.”
Her gaze ran over my face. “You are quite pale, more so than I remember from our first interview.”
“I haven’t fed on blood in some time and I believe I became a little crazed.”
“Show me your fangs.”
Knowing they were quite prominent since I’d so recently eaten, I opened my mouth.
“Well, indeed you are an air shifter.” She tapped her fingers on her chin. “I suppose it is possible that you were a late bloomer and the full effects of vampirism had yet to manifest.”
She was buying it. I didn’t know how or why, but somehow I’d been given a second chance. I’d been sure I’d leave the infirmary in chains if I left it at all.
“Hailey,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “Have you given any more thought to the question of your parents? Do you remember your family name?”
I looked down at my hand resting on the blanket. If I gave her this tidbit, maybe she would leave me alone, at least for a while? It was looking more and more like my plan to leave Thornbriar Academy had been a good one. I wasn’t safe here. “I do. My parents are the Coopers. Brian and Margaret, I think.”
Headmaster Larkin smiled, her fang peeking out of the corner of her mouth. “Thank you, Hailey. That will do so much to clear up the matter of your parentage.”
“Why does it matter?”
“We can ensure that your records are in order and that your lineage is clear.”
I frowned, still not understanding. It didn’t matter. “Do you know if they are still alive? I mean, since they didn’t come for me, I thought they must have died.”
If the headmaster had been a kind woman, she might have reached out and patted my hand. She even appeared as if she wanted to, but instead, she shook her head. “I’m afraid the family isn’t known to me, but I will make inquiries.”
“Thank you.”
“Hailey,” she said with a small smile. “Shifters aren’t any more all-knowing than the human police. Your parents might very well have been looking for you all this time, but just been unable to locate you.”
I nodded.
“Now that we are aware of your true element, we can make sure that you are properly supplied. You shouldn’t have any more episodes.”
“That would be great,” I said forcing enthusiasm into the words.
“I know you’re new to our world, Hailey, but if something feels wrong, don’t be afraid to let us know. We wouldn’t want a situation like this happening again.”
“Of course.”
“Now, get some rest.” The headmaster stood and with a nod, headed back up the aisle and out the door.
I waited, hoping to talk to Nurse Brar again, but he didn’t return. I figured the headmaster had told him I needed my rest. That was too bad. I really wanted to know more about my real father, whoever he was.
16
Adrian
I’d come to see Hailey in the infirmary. Sleeping, her hair spread around her on the white pillow and she looked like a dark angel or maybe a demon. She was my whole world, and I hated her for it. It had been bad enough when she was blissfully ignorant of how much she was hurting us, but now she knew and she didn’t care.
Slipping my hand under her pale fingers, I watched as she rolled over on her side, curling around our clasped hands. Did she even like me? Though I’d done everything in my power to hurt her? Or was this simply a reaction to a warm touch? Her skin was cold, chilled as if she’d been in an icy tub. I frowned. Had they given her an ice bath? Why?
What had she seen in class? Why had she choked Professor Frank? Had someone given her drugs? Human drugs worked oddly on a shifter’s biology, but some grew to love them. I knew that too well. My father had been in rehab after rehab since I was a kid. He was an embarrassment. My mom had given me all the lectures; avoid drugs, Adrian, you already have a natural predisposition to addiction.
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. The alcohol I’d drunk last night hadn’t made anything any better. In fact, it possibly made it worse.
“She’s quite beautiful,” a voice said behind me.
Spinning around, I glared at the nurse. “Sneak up behind people often?”
He snorted. “Not hard when you are so distracted.”
“What business is it of yours?”
“Hailey needs you, Adrian,” he said solemnly. “She needs all of her mates to face what’s coming.”
My mouth gaped. “How do you know?”
“I’m a nurse.” He shrugged. “And her tattoo is on her back.”
Part of me burned at the thought of anyone touching my mate. Even a mate I was pissed at. I shoved down my reaction, and said reasonably as I could, “Mate tattoos appear on the shoulder.”
“For those who have one mate, yes.” He strolled around the bed and beckoned me.
I followed him. My heart beating a little faster. What would it mean if Hailey had a tattoo too? Would she feel more committed to us? I grimaced. Us. Dammit. No one should have more than one mate.
After unlacing the back of her hospital gown, he gestured to her back.
Leaning over, I peered at the pattern outlined against her pale skin. It wasn’t fully darkened yet, but the natural ink outlined a tree with a spiral on its trunk. I frowned. I’d never seen anything like it. “How do you know it’s a mate tattoo?”
“I have a friend who has the same one.” He glanced toward the window. “Only his is fully filled in because he’s bonded with all his mates.”
Running a hand through my hair, I knew there were questions I should be asking, but I couldn’t seem to come up with any. Where was Sciro when you needed him? “Why haven’t we seen it before?”
“It takes more time to mature.”
“Hailey’s going to hate this.” She was already pissed that we’d mated at all. This was going to be one more thing tying her to us.
The nurse glanced at me. “You’ll nee
d to make her see the good side.”
I snorted, and Hailey stirred. “How many mates does your friend have?”
“Four.”
“Is there a limit to how many one can have?”
“I don’t know. Four is optimal for—”
“Adrian?” Hailey asked sleepily.
“Hi,” I said, looking at her and then back toward the nurse, only he’d disappeared. Thanks a lot, man. What had he said? Four were optimal. She was going to get another mate? Shit. My creature swished angrily within me. I tried to speak gently as she’d been ill. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” Her emerald eyes studied me. “Are you?”
“I’m mad,” I said. “I’m pissed that I have to share you and you don’t have to share me.”
She blinked. “Well, that’s honest.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. If she was bound to us as much as we were tied to her then I was done hiding. “I don’t want to play games.”
“Okay.”
“My mother is a Councilwoman. I’ve seen enough games to last a lifetime.”
“I know.”
“My father is an addict. He’s been in and out of rehab centers his whole life.” I sighed.
“Oh, wow, I’m sorry.”
“You’re not into drugs, are you? I mean, that stuff in Focus class was straight-up crazy.”
She swallowed, her face pained. “I’m not on drugs.”
“Then, what happened?”
“I’m an air shifter,” she said slowly as if she was testing her words. “Only I didn’t know it. The blood craziness got to me.”
“Blood lust, eh?” My mouth twisted. She was lying. It was as clear as day, but I didn’t know what about.
She could be an air shifter. Her skin was pale and I could see hints of her fangs around her mouth, but I didn’t think I’d ever seen them before. Her hand had been cold, icy even, but I’d assumed it had been from the chilly temperatures in the infirmary. But I didn’t remember it ever being cold before.
“Yeah.” She looked down at her hands, unable to meet my eyes.
I wanted to scream at her, to challenge her lie, but all I could see was my mother and father fighting. He did drugs and he lied to her about doing them. Every chance they’d had at a peaceful marriage had died with every lie he spoke. Falsehoods weren’t the way to a solid relationship, mate mark or no. I didn’t want to spend my whole life like that. Not only sharing what rightfully belonged to me but fighting all the time, contesting every word. I sighed. “I don’t want this.”
“Sciro’s working on that,” she said. “He’s got an idea about how to break the mate bond.”
A spear sliced through my heart at the words. As much as I resisted the mate bond, it had dug its claws into me and wouldn’t let go. But how could I face the rest of my life with a liar? I grimaced. I should have known that first night in the pool when she’d tensed when I’d asked simple questions. Never trust a liar. “Oh?”
“Something about unwinding the spiral.”
“Like the spiral on your back?” I asked.
Her brow wrinkled. “What?”
“Apparently your mate tattoo is on your back. The nurse was showing me.”
“I didn’t have anything earlier.” She blinked, reaching her hand to feel her back. “You and Nurse Brar were looking at my back?”
“That’s not important,” I said. “What is important is that because you have multiple mates, you have a different tattoo: a tree with a spiral in the center.”
Her eyes widened. “A tree with a spiral?”
“Yes,” I said, pulling my cell phone out of my pocket. “Here, let me take a pic.”
She nodded and rolled to the side, so I could do so. Only a few months ago she’d have been confused by the cell phone. It still amazed me that she’d only ever seen technology on TV, never held it in her own hands.
I came around the bed and the sight of her smooth back and her curved butt cheeks made me swallow hard, but I tried to ignore them. I snapped a shot and handed her the phone.
Hailey stared at the photo for a long time, silently, then she said, “This is the same as the book Sciro and I were looking at in the library.”
“The one about how to undo the mate bond?” I scowled but she didn’t look.
“Yes, well,” she continued, “it said that it had been done, but not how.”
I grunted. Of course, it wouldn’t be that easy. Sciro could spend years combing the archives only to find that one reference. Shifter records were notoriously incomplete. My mer-creature cried at the very idea of undoing the mate bond, but I didn’t know what to think. Would it be better?
Hailey handed my phone back to me. “You said the nurse told you?”
“Yes, he said that shifters with multiple mates have tattoos like this.”
“How did he know?”
“A friend of his has it too.” I glanced around, looking for the nurse. “He was just here.”
She sighed. “He does that.”
Her eyes were forlorn as if she didn’t have a friend in the world. Dammit. As if she didn’t have three mates waiting to serve her every need. Why did she keep turning to others? To shifters outside our circle? Why couldn’t she get her needs met with us? And why did she keep lying about it?
I yanked my sleeve up exposing my wrist, and I offered it to her.
Her nose wrinkled.
“You’re an air shifter,” I said. “And you need more blood or you go crazy, right?”
She nibbled on her lip.
“Here, take mine.” I grabbed her hands and wrapped them around my arm, shivering at their chill. “Drink.”
“You hate me,” she said softly.
“I want to. I really do.” I scowled. “But you’re my mate.”
“You don’t have to,” she said, averting her eyes. “I don’t want you to be trapped.”
“Trapped?” I snorted. “I’m already caught. Might as well use me for the benefits.”
“Adrian.”
“You really need to stop running away from us. Sciro might never figure out how to undo the mate bond, but we are here for you. Now.”
“I just want to be free.”
“Hailey, you are free. You can be whoever you want to be. You can go anywhere you want to go.” I ran a hand through my hair. “You can even fuck whoever you want to.”
Her brow furrowed.
“But we are your mates, your friends, and we are here to support you. We love you.” I stared at her as if I was hearing my words for the first time.
Shit. I did love her. Even when she lied to me. Even when she fucked other guys. Even when she was an obstinate ass. I still loved her. “I love you.”
She reached up and grasped my arm, bringing it to her mouth. She kissed it from the wrist to the shoulder as she pulled me toward her. Her lips hovered over mine. “I don’t know if this is real love or some magical curse, but I love you too, Adrian.”
When she pressed her lips to mine, I was lost in a whirlpool, submerged in her touch. I had kissed lots of women, but she drowned me with just a kiss. My merman sang within me, a high-pitched serenade to our mate.
She leaned back. “Do you hear that?”
“What?” I asked.
“The singing?” She looked around. “It’s beautiful. Ethereal. I’ve never heard anything like it.”
A slow smile crossed my face. “You can hear my merman’s singing?”
Her eyes glowed. “I think I can.”
17
Sciro
The library was quiet this morning. I’d been trying to go through a few more books before classes started for the day. But as usual, I’d come up empty-handed. I’d been searching for over a month now and nothing on multiple mates or breaking a mate bond. I hadn’t seen anything about unwinding the spiral either. I glanced over at the old man at his desk. He was the only one I knew of who might know about any of this.
“Professor Ward?”
“Yes, Sciro.�
�� He lifted his graying head with a patient smile. He was a crabby old bear, but he’d always made time for me.
I shifted uneasily from foot to foot. “Have you ever heard of unwinding the spiral?”
He gave me a reproachful frown. “You’d think you’d avoid spirit shifter ideas by now.”
My throat dried. “Spirit shifters?”
Leaning back in his chair, he said, “Yes, the old shamans tried many cures for the madness, but nothing helped.”
“Unwinding the spiral was a cure?”
“No, not exactly. They were resistant to killing one of our own. They believed if they could undo the mate bond, they could isolate the spirit shifters, remove them from society.” He snorted. “My own father even tried it on Trisha.”
“Did it work?” I asked, but I knew the answer.
“Maybe it did a little,” he said. “I’m still standing, aren’t I? Not many have survived the death of a mate.”
I ran my tongue over my fang. “Have there been other cases of shifters with more than one mate, other than spirit shifters?”
His eyes hardened. “What brings this up? Have you encountered a spirit shifter?”
“No, not that I know of,” I said as casually as I could. “I just wondered. I’d never heard of multiple mates before you told me the story about Trisha.”
“It happened more in olden times I suppose.” He sighed. “We’ve become somewhat acclimated to the human ways of one partner, so there’s less chance of it occurring today.”
“But not impossible?” My stomach began to unwind a bit. So it was feasible that Hailey was just a throwback, not a spirit shifter.
“When you are as old as I am,” the earth shifter said. “You’ll learn that very little is impossible.”
I snorted and started to turn away. Then, I glanced back. “Professor Ward?”
“Yes, Sciro?”
“Did Trisha have a mate tattoo? I mean, would someone with multiple mates get a normal tattoo?”
“That’s two different questions. Yes, shifters with more than one mate generally get a regular mate tattoo, often more intricate than average, but still the same.”
“Okay,” I said. But there’d been nothing on Hailey. Not even a regular tattoo.
